Situational Leadership Style Summary /Self-Assessment
Adapted from: Hersey and Blancard
Description of Assessment Inventory
Esparza et al. (2020) points out the purpose and importance of the use of leadership models in the workplace.
Leadership models can help us understand why leaders act the way they do, and which leadership actions are most
likely to lead to successful outcomes. Situational leadership is a leadership model coined by Paul Hersey and
Kenneth Blancard in 1969. Situational leadership depends on the readiness of the followers and the situation and
suggests that leaders should adapt their styles to the specified needs of their followers, based on how ready and
willing the follower is to perform the required task. In the situational leadership assessment, there are four styles (S1
to S4) to match the four development levels (D1 to D4). The assessment contains 12 situations followed by four
alternative actions to choose from. According to the assessment, one style is no better than the other, and there is
room for improvement in each style. My Summary
The Situational Leadership Assessment was a tool used to potentially assess my leadership style and how I react in
different situations in a leadership position. I must admit that I went into this assessment with a lack of knowledge
and was mostly confused when it was time to total my score. The assessment was like being offered two job
opportunities at once. None of the responses seemed to be right or wrong answers, but I did have the notion that the
alternative actions were rated highest to lowest. I was obviously wrong. I am not sure if I should highlight my high
task focus as a strength if I am uncertain of the scoring. If my scoring is accurate, my leadership style is, S1
(Telling/Directing). In S1, the leader has a high task focus, and low relationship focus. The follower (D1) has low
competence, low commitment/unable and unwilling or insecure. In S2 (Selling/Coaching), the leader has both high
task and high relationship focus, while the follower (D2), has some competence, variable commitment/unable but
willing or motivated. In S3(Participating/Facilitating/Supporting), the leader has a low task focus and a high
relationship focus. The follower (D3) has high competence, variable commitment/able but unwilling or insecure.
Lastly, In S4 (Delegating/Observing) the leader has both a low task and low relationship focus, while the
follower(D4) has a high competence level, high commitment/able and willing or motivated. Out of all the situations,
I was uncertain of one and kept notes for each of my alternative choices to explain my decisions, which mostly
comes from personal experience. Discussion
At my current stage of life, I am a sponge soaking up all the knowledge I can absorb. When it comes to the results of
the situational leadership assessment, I am taking a neutral stance. I neither agree nor disagree. I chose this stance
because the purpose of the assessment is to enhance my leadership skills, and this gives me a chance to further
examine myself or look to others for feedback. I am not dismissing the results or avoiding a plan of action, as I
prepared myself to have no preconceived biases as I approached my results.
To be more transparent about my results without fully copying the 12 situations presented in the assessment, my
alternative action response to the situations (1-12) are: (A, A, A, B, B, A, B, B, C, A, C, and D). I would like to
point out a couple of situations in the assessment. In situation #8, I noted that “I was unsure of the situation and if
there were any uncertainty of my direction in the group, I would rather not leave them alone.”
In situation #12, after
my chosen response I noted that “this may be wrong, but I like to ease tension between those around me.” I had the
need to self-evaluate after I chose a response, to understand myself why I chose that response. The assessment
suggested that my leadership style is S1, which places me at being high tasked focused with no concern for
interpersonal work relationships. I am a task-oriented person, and like to stand on business first, and I know forming
relationships and inclusion is necessary. It did not say my relationship focus was non-existent, but low. I simply
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